When you choose the life of homesteading there are so many things that “normal” people would just not understand.  Today’s example of that is my wood stove.  We choose to heat our house with an amazing wood stove.  We keep it burning almost around the clock in the colder months.  Ever hour or so you throw a log in and go about your business.  It just becomes routine.  This morning, before I was going to go out and milk the goat, (another perfectly “normal” activity), I threw a log in… well this log was one inch too long.  Of course the stove was crazy hot so the log burst into flames immediately and did not give me a chance to change my mind about log choice. What are my options? Well I could run through the house with a burning log to get to the metal barrel outside, or I just have to sit and wait for it to burn down enough to be able to put it in all the way.

Today of all days is my busy day, we spend the most time away from the farm today and I am on a tight schedule this morning.  Without any hold ups we are rushing to get it all done.  Today, I get to explain that I am late because a log was too big.  People are going to look at me like I am nuts.

This is not the first time the farm and homesteading has placed us behind schedule;  We have pigs get stuck in tomato cages, late for family dinner.  Goats get out and we can not get them back in, late for church.  Aquaponics system overflow, husband had to miss work. The list could just go on and on.  Everyday, we are uncertain about what we are going to find and what challenges we are going to face.  No wonder homesteaders tend to be home bodies.  It is not that we are antisocial, it is just that our life is crazy!

There are some days we talk about giving it all up.  We could heat our house with oil, we could join a CSA, we could find local farmers to get our food from.  Why do we do this to ourselves?  Why does Thanksgiving take nine months to prepare for?  We will not even talk about the Christmas ham!  We would have more money, because it is not cheaper.  We would have more time, whats that?  Why do we do this?  Personally, I think we are slightly crazy.  Also, there is a piece of us that just loves it.  You have to love it, or why would you go out in the freezing cold to tend to animals and harvest from the garden, when you could go to a heated store. I’m tired, it is hard work, and it almost never goes as planned.  However, at the end, (or the beginning of the day), I would not trade it for anything in the world.